Someone once told me that if you don’t like the weather in Michigan wait five minutes. Oh how true that has turned out to be. Last week I was in shorts, tank top, and flip-flops basking in 87-degree weather and this week I’m in a puffer coat and a scarf. Luckily, I follow the weather/news as if I were getting paid to and was sufficiently warned to bring my precious basil plant indoors, saving it from the frost, for now anyways. Of course, I took the flannel sheets off my bed over the weekend because I was sweating like a freshman on the first day of high school. I am fully regretting that choice seeing as last night I think we hit a low of 17 degrees with wind chill. One last strike of irony I got a pedicure on Saturday in the event I should be wearing sandals as I had been for the proceeding week. Ha! Thankfully, I was in the right mind not to jump the gun and unpack my summer tote of clothing and pack up all the winter clothes. I am looking forward to the day when the puffer can safely live in the hall closet and the scarves can be cleaned, folded, and put away until next year, which in this state probably means September but you know what I mean.
Michigan produces about 8% of the apples in the United States. A drop in a bucket compared to Washington (58%) but substantial nonetheless. Apple growers are having quite a fit, as all of the orchards started budding last week with our incredibly warm temperatures. This is a major problem because once an apple tree begins to blossom there is no turning back and furthermore frost kills apple blossoms. History has shown that with every full moon until June there is an accompanying frost or freeze. Guess how many full moons there are until June? Two. This means many apple farmers could lose up to three quarters of their entire crop.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed our orchards aren’t completely ruined I’m sending good vibes by creating an apple, bacon, and brie galette! If you’ve been on the site more than once you probably figured out by now that I freaking love the sweet and salty combination. The galette is incredibly easy to whip up and is decadent and rich. It’s perfect for an appetizer to share or a love thy self kind of night. By the way the love thy self rules state that there are no calories in anything consumed on such an evening and that you are fantastic in which case it is perfectly okay to consume an apple, bacon, and brie galette in entirety.
Apple, Bacon, Brie Galette
|Gather
1 puff pastry sheet
1 large apple thinly sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c water
½ small wheel of brie thinly sliced
2 slices of bacon, fried and roughly chopped
|Create
Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet heat sugar, water, lemon juice, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, once bubbling add thinly sliced apples. Cover and cook at simmer until apples are soft and sauce is mostly reduced. Place puff pastry on baking sheet and spread the first bacon slice and layer with brie and apples then sprinkle final bacon pieces. Fold puff pastry in a circular shape over mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until puff pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 20 minutes.
|Enjoy
Best enjoyed warm.









































